


Brighten your days

by mrsseizetheday



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27162548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsseizetheday/pseuds/mrsseizetheday
Summary: When Sirius Black has to go into hiding and can’t leave Grimmauld Place anymore Remus Lupin contacts you to keep said man company and brighten his place and maybe also his mood.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	Brighten your days

“You want me to believe, that Sirius Black lives here?” you asked your friend Remus when you followed him through the hallway into the kitchen. “It’s no wonder the guy is depressed! Did you look around, who wouldn’t be depressed? If I’m going to stare any longer at the dark walls and the dark furniture it’ll affect me too. We have to change a lot here!” You finger flew over the cupboard in the kitchen and you looked at the dusk that had gathered on your finger tip. 

“I would have done something myself, but I’m busy with the Order and I thought maybe you’d be good for him,” Remus admitted. He had contacted you and asked if he could meet you. When you met in a little café you made mostly small talk as you hadn’t seen each other for years. Then he had asked if you wanted to come home with him, which had caused you to raise your eyebrow. But he quickly explained that he wanted to talk privately without the option of someone hearing what he had to say. 

He told you, that the Order was active again and that Sirius was actually innocent. You were glad that you had already sat down as you couldn’t believe that Peter had actually betrayed the Potters. You would have gladly said that it would make more sense, but you couldn’t as you couldn’t imagine what had Peter led to that decision. You didn’t need to think long if you would join the Order again, you were almost offended that Remus was even asking. 

He also told you that Sirius wasn’t feeling his best as he couldn’t leave the house and you shouldn’t expect him to be the same. 13 years had taken its toll, but you just told him that you weren’t the same person you had been also. 

“Okay, where is our favourite dog?” you asked to lighten the atmosphere. 

“So, am I still your favourite dog?” you heard a voice behind you which you hadn’t heard in a really long time. You turned around with a smile on your face and you had to fight really hard that it would stay that way. 

“Of course, who should have taken that place?” you asked finally. “Please tell me Remus told you I’d come over.” 

“I was aware,” he answered slowly. You changed a look with Remus, because he was right: Sirius was nothing like he used to be. 

“Okay. You guys look like you could need a home cooked meal. Is there anything here or do I need to go grocery shopping?” You were busy to get rid of the awkward air that was filling the room. 

“Theres a little bit in the fridge, feel free to use anything,” Sirius said and walked over to a cabinet, opened it and pulled out a bottle with brown liquid. You didn’t point out the time, you were pretty sure he was aware of that. 

“Okay, I can work with that, but I need to shop tomorrow.” And then you started preparing a simple meal. It took some time to find the right utensils and one cupboard didn’t even open. After scrubbing everything you needed you placed three plates on the table. It was a quiet night, something you hadn’t expected. It was never really quiet with the Marauders and their friends, but now there were only three of you sitting at a table and it brought painful memories that it used to be more. 

“I’ll come back tomorrow, if that’s okay for you,” you finally asked when you did the dishes and swept the table clean. 

“Be my guest,” he said with a wave of his hand that wasn’t as inviting as you had hoped. You nodded, waved goodby to Remus and then left for your apartment. 

The next day you were better prepared. At least you thought so when you walked through the door, after opening the many locks with your wand, and put down the heavy bags you carried. The smell hadn’t improved since yesterday and you were sure it would take a while and some effort before it would be better. One bag was filled with groceries, the other one with cans of paint – all shrunk down so you could carry everything at once. 

You walked into the kitchen as it was the only room you knew and you didn’t want to explore the house without Sirius permission. When the groceries and cans had their normal size and you put away the first and there was no sign of Sirius you called for him. A mistake you’d realize a second later. The curtain on your right flew open and moths were emerging from it. Behind it was a portrait and that portrait was screaming so loud that the other portraits in the hall joined the woman in the giant painting. 

_“Another traitor? Nobody good comes through that door anymore, you’re putting shame on this family, on the house of my fathers...”_

You took a step back as you hadn’t expected that outburst. 

“Just stun the little paintings first,” Sirius appeared on the top of the stairs and you pulled out your wand to do as he told. 

“Would you finally shut up, you old hag?” he screamed at that painting and made a motion for you to follow his lead and close the curtains again. There must have been a silencing charm around it as you couldn’t hear the woman screaming anymore. Sirius made you a sign to be silent and to follow him to the kitchen. 

“What was that?” you asked shocked when he closed the door behind you. It was only then that you took in his appearance. He had lost weight, you could see his rips as he hadn’t bothered to clothe himself and was only wearing a robe, which he hasn’t closed, over some pyjama pants. 

“That was my mother,” he said and you were speechless. “That hag put a spell on that portrait, couldn’t remove it so far.” 

“How about we try to brighten this place? I’ve brought some paint, didn’t know which colours were your favourite though so I just went for bright colours. And I think we need to get rid of these awful snake doorknobs, I feel like I’m in the Slytherin common room again.” You shuddered, but Sirius laughed when he remembered why you’d been there. You clapped your hands together excitedly. “So, what room would you like to start?” 

“Harry will come over, maybe we can start with a room for him,” he suggested. You told him to go change and show you the bathroom and the room he wanted to make over, so you could finally start. 

It did take a while for you to brighten up the house. Sirius wasn’t fully enthusiastic about it; it did take a few days before he started to see small changes. The house wasn’t only dusty and dark, but with the years it had become also the home of some creatures that you had to banish. You noticed that Sirius mood dropped when you left for the night, so you suggested you could stay for a while when you finished another bedroom. 

Another obstacle was that house elf. When you suggested that you could remove the house elves heads above the stairs he had jumped out of his hiding place and threw something at you. Sirius scolded him, but every time you suggested something like that again the house elf found a way to remind you, he wasn’t fond of it. He also smuggled things back that you wanted to throw out. 

And so it came that you weren’t nearly finished when the meetings started to take place in Grimmauld Place and when the Weasley family arrived to take shelter. 

You took a liking to Tonks (and you were pretty sure that Remus did too) and Bill Weasley. Severus Snape was bearable as long as he wasn’t in the same room as Sirius and you were pretty glad to see Professor McGonagall joined the Order, although she told you she wasn’t your professor anymore, but old habits die hard. Dumbledore was grateful for Sirius that he had given them the headquarter, but he was also kind of worried that he would leave the house and did something risky. Since you’ve been there he wasn’t as worried and that’s why he asked you if you could stay and help with the paper work. 

“Sirius, how fond are you of this piece of furniture?” you asked one morning and pointed at the cabinet which took in most of the living room. 

“I’m not fond of anything in this room, if you haven’t noticed.” 

“Just making sure. Ginny, Hermione would like to help me paint it?” You asked the two witches and they agreed, happy that they didn’t have to get rid of the Doxys anymore. A few days passed, that ugly black turned into a bright red and when you looked at the snake handles you turned them into little lion heads and soon you three were happy with the outcome. 

Another meeting was about to start, you were just waiting for Harrys escort. To be honest you were pretty excited to finally meet the boy. If Sirius and Remus stories had been correct, he was just as wild as James was. But first of all, you had to finish that meeting in which Severus swept in and started his report after a long pause. And everybody called Sirius the Drama Queen? 

You noticed that Sirius mood always dropped after a meeting. You were busy putting together the papers on the table when you heard that awful screeching from the hallway. Sirius ran towards it and you were still busy collecting the papers when he reappeared with Harry at his side. Arthur greeted him as did Bill who had his hands full of Pergament as did you. But you had dropped yours when you laid eyes on the boy in front of you who looked so much like James that your stomach pulled together and you forgot for a moment to breath. As Tonks threw a candle over the papers the attention left you and you quickly grabbed the papers from the floor. 

Molly announced she needed help for dinner and you helped her at the stove while the younger ones helped chopping vegetables and meat. You walked over to Harry and Sirius who were in a heated discussion when Molly told you she’d be fine alone at the stove. 

“Are you two arguing over who had the lousiest summer?” you asked confused. Harrys first glance at you wasn’t as friendly as you hoped, but who could have blamed him with that introduction. You redeemed yourself and told him your name and held out your hand. You noticed that he must have heard your name before. 

“What if I had to suffer the most? I had to kick this one,” you pointed at Sirius, “out of bed every day for two months just to clean this monster of a house and we’re still not finished yet. On the good side I could sleep very well as the work was exhausting. Did Sirius tell you what he prepared for you?” 

Harry looked over at Sirius. Sirius shrugged as if it wasn’t a big thing, but you knew that it was. You knew that he still had bad days and needed some motivation. And it seemed as if Harry was just the same. “Come with me.” You gave them both a pointed look and walked towards the first room you had renovated. When Sirius still made no effort to talk you jumped in. 

“When I asked Sirius what room he wanted to redo first he told me he wanted to do one for you. So, I guess this is your room, Harry,” you opened the door. You had painted the walls in a light yellow and had covered the dark furniture with white paint. On the nightstand stood a picture of James and Lily, a Gryffindor banner hung at the wall and there was a place for Hedwig. You felt like your job was done and so you left the two alone and squeezed Sirius arm when you walked past him. “Dinner is almost ready, don’t take too long,” you said before you closed the door behind you. 

You walked back to the kitchen and took a place next to Remus. “Maybe it’s good for both of them to be together,” you said to him. 

“Or this could be a disaster,” he replied, but you wanted to look at the bright side. 

A while later everyone was sitting at the table and when you reached for the bowl with the potatoes Ginny pointed at your finger. “Is that a tattoo?” she asked surprised. You nodded and showed her the black star on your finger. 

“Wait, I’ve seen this before,” Harry mumbled. You took Remus hand in yours and pointed to the same tattoo as Sirius raised his hand and showed his one. 

“We all got them when we joined the order. I remember Lily being the first one to get hers done and James had no other choice to follow,” you laughed at the memory at that. 

“It’s no surprise that they found the finger of Wormtail. Never ever wanted to get that damn tattoo,” Sirius mumbled, but not everyone heard them as Molly told Fred and George they shouldn't even think about getting one. You only smirked at them which caused one of them to wink at you and you getting a dirty look from Molly. 

“Tonks, are you ready to go?” you asked when the dinner was done. Tonks nodded and jumped up, but not without toppling over her glass. 

“You’re leaving?” Sirius asked surprised. This was going to be the first night in weeks that you would leave the place. You nodded and told him you had a mission, which he should have known from the meeting that had taken place. He huffed and left the table without another word. 

“At least he’s not alone,” you mumbled to Remus before you left the kitchen with Tonks and steering her away from that awful umbrella stand, before she would wake that painting again. 

You came back in the early hours of the next day. You were exhausted and tired. The bedroom you had used was used by a Weasley but you didn’t want to go back to your lonely apartment. You opened the door to Grimmauld Place as quietly as you could. Your wand gave you some light and you walked into the living room and laid down on the couch. It wasn’t as comfortable as you had hoped for but it would fulfil its purpose. 

You couldn’t have slept for long at least it didn’t feel like it when you felt hot air touching your face. You slowly opened your eyes and screamed when you looked into an unusual face. You weren’t quite sure what happened, but the next thing you know you were laying on the floor and Kreacher was in front of you scrambling to his feet and mumbling something you couldn’t hear. The door flung open and in it stood Sirius with his wand in his hand, followed by Arthur. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you. I was just surprised when Kreacher breathed down my neck when I was sleeping.” Sirius took the house elf and threw him out of the room while Arthur helped you up. You assured him that you were fine and he should go back to bed. 

“Why have you been sleeping here?” Sirius asked when it was just the two of you in the room. 

“My room is blocked and Buckbeak is using the last available room and I didn’t want to go... to my flat,” you said. Home didn’t feel right. 

“You can take my bed right now. We’ll figure something out for tomorrow.” You blinked at him. You had never set foot in Sirius room, but you were too tired to argue and he was offering. 

You slept pretty long the next day and when you stood up and made your way into the kitchen the others were enjoying their lunch. “Good morning,” you greeted and let out a yawn. You poured yourself some juice and took place on the long table. 

“Do you want some?” Hermione offered, but you declined. 

“Was everything okay?” Arthur asked and you nodded. “Would you maybe take my shift tonight?” 

“Of course, that’s no problem,” you promised and Sirius huffed. You turned around towards him with a smile on your face. “This is not your way of telling me you miss me, is it?” you asked just to get a reaction out of him. Your voice dropped even lower. “Or did you hope that we could share your bed tonight?” 

“If I wanted to, I would get you into my bed in three seconds,” he played along and when you let out a small laugh the ban was broken. 

“Well I was successful in charming your pants of once,” he laughed. 

“You said that was an accident, I knew you were lying,” you said louder. 

“This is hardly any topic at the table, dear,” Molly tried. 

“Oh no, you don’t understand. He literally charmed my pants of while I was standing in the common room. And Remus was the only one who lent me his Jumper so I could cover myself.” You turned towards Sirius who had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard when he remembered you standing just in your underwear in the common room. “Glad that it was so much fun for all of us,” you shoved his shoulder, but how could you be mad at him when he was finally laughing again. 

The rest of the day passed quickly and you even convinced everyone to let you take a photo of them. You wanted a reminder because from the last war you knew that not everyone would come back alive. When you left the house that evening with Bill you left with a heavy heart. “What’s up with that frown?” he asked after a while. 

“I don’t know, I don’t feel so good with leaving Sirius in that house,” you admitted. 

“Well, I think he looks happier every day, if that counts for anything.” he replied. 

“Yeah, but for how long? You don’t know him like I do. He needs to do something; he needs to be needed. He feels useless that he can’t do anything.” 

“Hm, maybe he just needs to find another purpose. You manage most of the paper work, right? Why not let him help with that?” You hummed your agreement and then the both of you left for your shift. 

When you came back this time there was a note left for you, that you could use his bed again. Didn't he want to sleep? You walked slowly towards his bedroom and opened the door quietly. At first you didn’t see anything, but when you stumbled towards the bed you felt something warm, at your feet. That something was also furry. Then you saw an eye and it did take a while for you to understand that Sirius had turned into his animagus form for the night. 

“No peaking,” you told him when you changed into something you could sleep in and then crawled under the cold covers. So he hadn’t used the bed this night. “Hey Padfoot? Thank you,” you said and hoped it would get warmer with time. 

Your wish was granted because you felt really hot when you woke up. The floor wasn’t enough for Padfoot as it seemed and he had placed itself next to you. “You sneaky bastard,” you said and shoved the dog's snout from your body. 

Life at Grimmauld Place was better when there were many people. Bill was right, Sirius seemed happier each day, but when it was time to say goodbye to the kids his mood dropped not as much as you had anticipated. 

Time flew by and before you knew it it was Sirius birthday. You had taken a detour when you went grocery shopping to get him a present. Your apartment wasn’t used anymore as you had taken over the old bedroom and sometime Sirius snuck in to sleep next to you as Padfoot. You wanted to suggest that you could just move in completely but you felt like he had to offer this. 

Remus come over for breakfast with Tonks and you had to safe the cake when she offered to place it on the table. The glances that both of them exchanged didn’t go unnoticed by you, but you didn’t comment on it. When Sirius finally walked into the kitchen you were at your second cup of tea. It was a nice breakfast and it was nice to talk about other stuff than the Order. When the guests bid goodbye you told Sirius you had a present for him. 

“I’m sorry, there was no wrapping paper,” you excused the poorly wrapped present. You had used an old daily prophet to cover it. When Sirius got rid of the paper, he held a leather jacket in his hand. “I remember how much you loved the one you had. I also remember that you looked really good in it, so I couldn’t resist, when I saw it.” You bit your lip nervously. “Do you like it?” 

“I love it, darling.” You gaped at him. The pet name was something new. He stood up and pulled the jacket on. 

“You can wear it outside when all of this stuff is over and you are free to roam the streets.” 

“I’ll hope you’ll stroll with me?” What was it with Sirius today and his ability to make you flustered? You just nodded as you didn’t trust your voice. This evening felt different than the others and when you both shared that couch after dinner and you both stopped conversation at the same time and bent both forward so your lips were almost touching you weren’t sure if this was such a good idea. 

“I’m not sure, if this is a good idea,” you whispered. He asked you why and you weren’t sure how you should tell him that you were afraid that he would only kiss you because you were the only option. Should you tell him that he meant so much more to you? He waited for your response. When it was clear that you wouldn’t answer he let himself fall backwards. 

“Well, we both knew you deserve more,” he said finally. 

“I don’t want this, because I don’t want to be your only option,” you admitted. 

He laughed humourlessly. “You are my only option, but I _want_ you to be my only option.” He pushed his hair back from his face. “You make my days so much brighter and I’m afraid when you realize that I darken yours and you will leave.” 

You moved forward so you sat on your knees and the sofa let out a squeak in protest. “I don’t want to leave, if you haven’t realized that already I don’t know what to do to convince you. I’ve been here for months. I’m here because of you, you oaf.” Your faces were almost touching again. “I care about you.” 

Instead of replying Sirius closed the distances between you and put his lips on yours with so much force you were almost falling to the floor. But you grabbed his arms to steady you without and soon it turned into a full make out session as if you both were teenagers. 

“Maybe you can sleep in my bed tonight,” you offered a little out of breath. 

“Darling, I’ve been sleeping in your bed the last weeks,” he replied while he tried to cover that he was also needing more air. 

“But maybe you could leave the dog outside tonight,” you winked.


End file.
